Indian Super Cup 2018: Sanjiban Ghosh has been a great understudy to Subrata Paul, says Jamshedpur FC coach Steve Coppell
Whats the story?
Jamshedpur FC coach sang praises for goalkeeper Sanjiban Ghosh after his heroics in the match against Minerva Punjab. Ghosh, who has been an understudy to Subrata Paul for much of the season, made several important saves during the game. Ghosh also saved two penalties from Minerva Punjab as the match headed to a penalty shootout after it ended goal-less after 120 minutes.
In case you didn't know...
Jamshedpur FC shocked I-League winners when the came up on top after a penalty shootout. After the match had ended scoreless after 120 minutes, Ghosh saved two penalties as his side beat Minerva 5-4 in penalties.
The heart of the matter
The ex-Manchester City coach praised goalkeeper Sanjiban Ghosh, who was making his first start for Jamshedpur, "All year he (Sanjiban Ghosh) has been a terrific understudy for Subrata (Paul). He has worked very hard on a daily basis. Tonight was just reward for his hard work. He made some magnificent saves tonight. He has worked really hard. He didn’t get a chance until tonight. Terrific individual goalkeeping performance."
Coach Coppell lead his side to a 5th place finish in their debut Indian Super League season, qualifying automatically for the Super Cup. After the match, Coppell claimed that the Super Cup should scrap extra time and instead head straight to penalties.
Coppell told the media,"In order to avoid injuries and focus more on skills, the cup should discard 30-minute extra time. He said that a football match should be about skill instead of endurance and if both teams are inseparable after 90 minutes then the match should head straight to penalties."
What's next?
Although his proposal is most likely to be dismissed by the football federation, Coppell would be happy with his team. Going into the round-of-16 stage odds were heavily stacked against the side from Jamshedpur but they still manage to come out on top with the help of heroics from Ghosh.
Author's take
Ghosh has proven to be an excellent understudy and will give his coach a selection headache ahead of Jamshedpur's match in the quarterfinals.